With all the cards at hand, I find the game (as a GM) a lot more fun for myself and challenging in spontaneous draws from the decks and letting the players spew ideas on how these draws get linked together (if you are stuck as the GM). For one of my new players, he was confused at a lack of confrontation/conflict (with the combat grind mindset from other games) but with a few intrusions involving combat, it took a bit for him to adjust to the idea that "I the GM" wasn't rolling any dice in combat, and I didn't use an initiative tracker, lol...
Yet another great video from your channel. Your answers/thoughts are so well presented and illustrate your very impressive understanding/mastery of the system. Thank you for your energy and time on these videos and for creating such a valuable resource for this fantastic game!
I knew this was in the works, and had been keeping an eye on the channel. In the end, I lucked out and stumbled into the stream while LIVE. 😀 I'm still watching as I type, but am again loving the content. In regard to your response to my own questions, I found myself nodding often in agreement. Lots of great points. You hit on many of the things I most love about Cypher, and made me refocus my gaze. Those features absolutely can be viewed as "character abilities". Each group, story and "campaign" is different, and the ease with which Cypher can be tuned for many flavors of game is a huge asset. I will likely still have games in which I'd like to add that extra "ability" per tier; but you've reminded me why I've loved Cypher from the start. It is a very fine game as is, without me adding or subtracting. Thanks a lot for the excellent insights. 👍🏻
A house rule I’ve implemented with some success is requiring PCs to spend some in-game down-time training and reflecting on their experiences in order to gain the benefits on character advancements. One advancement requires 4 XP and a full day of training or rest. After purchasing the four advancements required to get to the next tier, a PC must spend a week of downtime to gain the benefits of their new tier. Once the new tier is achieved, their advancement track resets as normal. I usually allow PCs to work on other activities like crafting, researching, carousing, making new contacts, etc., during these periods of downtime.
Love your videos! I have a bit more generic question on GMing, if that is okay. :) The thing I feel the least comfortable with as a GM is NPCs. How to make them, run them, and keep them different from each other. Do you know of a good book with help on this? Preferably with examples. Many GM/DM books just give tables for inspiration and very few concrete examples on actual in session situations. I have a feeling that if I get better at creating interesting NPCs, and especially running them, they will also become easier to distinguish from each other. Even with minimal voice acting. I have currently run Curse of Strahd for 8 sessions, after 6+ month of the essential kit, and hope to sometime next year get my group onto the idea of trying a Numenera game. :)
Interesting first question... I actually do EXACTLY what the OP suggests. Since the sheet has the "Other" option, I basically require all five advancement options to advance a level. That means 20 XP to advance a level and it gives an extra ability per level to all PCs. BTW, I did not add this house rule to give more abilities (I agree with you regarding the number of available abilities: there's a lot already). I did it for two reasons: 1) I did want to extend the progression a bit and 2) 16 XP is a weird number for my OCD mind... a decimal system makes more sense to me for level advancement, and 20 XP per level seems perfect. Yes, yes, I get it might sound crazy, but it just makes more sense... LOL The extra ability was a collateral house rule, and nobody is complaining about getting an extra ability... One extra aspect of what I did: I followed the optional rule of separating the in-game XP (for rerolls and the like) and the session-advancement XP (for actual advancement). Usually, it is 2-3 XP per session and we play biweekly. That means 2-3 years of actual play before the characters max out. By that time, my players are ready to create a new character...
I hadn't thought of grabbing the "alternative" advancements and using them as a fifth category...and you're right, it is right there in the "other" category. This would bring the total to 30 levels of advancement? I may have to think on this and see where it makes sense to apply it...thank you!
I just finished the video. Great advice on how we can make sure we GMs get to use the ideas, scenes and encounters we've prepared while avoiding "the dreaded railroad" that ignores player influence on the narrative. It is definitely a thing that becomes easier to confidently manage with practice and repetition. As you say, it's a matter of having it in mind and putting in the time at the gaming table. In regard to my latter question about pulling CSR abilities and options into Numenera, we're 100% on the same page. If the players (and GM) involved have a solid grasp on the setting, and the curated options in the Destiny and Discovery core, broadening the pool of options a bit can add variety. I always think back to a Nano I got to play after the first "Character Options" book released. He was pretty adventurous, and "led from the front" more than many players' Nanos I'd seen. I had a blast using the "Far Step" esotery to reach those high ledges and secure the ropes, etc... While "Far Step" is not present in Discovery, it's alive and well in the CSR. The same goes for "Closed Mind", "Muscles of Iron", and numerous other old favorites. For a group that's been around The Beyond a time or two, adding a few more options to the selection can really keep characters feeling unique, not only in personality and story, but in mechanics.
John Cage FTW !!!! Wonder if you're also a Stockhausen fan. Cage basically discovered AR in my view - recognizing there is ALWAYS a perceptive frame outside of the composer's control.. and it should be embraced + acknowleged.
I'm not familiar with Stockhausen! But I'll check some of his work out. And YES, as you put it the "perceptive frame outside of the composer's control" I think is a very valuable lesson for GMs and TTRPGs!
I find the idea of getting an additional Foci once Tier 6 is maxed out to be fascinating, at least flavor-wise. A(n) [Adjective] [Noun] Who Bears A Halo of Fire AND Wears A Sheen of Ice. Who Rides The Lightning AND Controls Gravity. Who Crafts Illusions AND Breathes Shadow. Any of those sound like a rip-roaring good time, especially when the 2nd Foci is complementary to or even a contrast to the 1st. Using these wildly different abilities in conjunction could lead to some incredibly creative and fun narrative solutions to gameplay obstacles. Likewise, a 2nd Descriptor might also be interesting if it's different enough from the 1st, such as a racial or regional Descriptor. A "Cruel Vralkan" or a "Subterranean Varjellen", etc. Is this a good solution for padding out Tier 6 characters until a 7+ Tier is officially added in future editions of the core books and, if so, what are the pros and cons? Have you done this before in any previous games you've run?
@@THEINFINITECONSTRUCT Apparently, at the top of pg. 88 in Character Options 1, it does indeed suggest adding a secondary Foci for maxxed out Tier 6 characters to simulate additional Tiers. There is also supposedly an Artifact in the Technology Compendium that allows the bearer to choose a 2nd Foci. UPDATE: It's called "Memory Shard".
I've been revisiting these videos in recent weeks. I've now run the game with my proffered houserule discussed in this video. It was a popular addition. Likewise, I have since played in a game in which we got to choose two Descriptors. It was cool. I think it can be a worthwhile change for some games and characters.
With all the cards at hand, I find the game (as a GM) a lot more fun for myself and challenging in spontaneous draws from the decks and letting the players spew ideas on how these draws get linked together (if you are stuck as the GM). For one of my new players, he was confused at a lack of confrontation/conflict (with the combat grind mindset from other games) but with a few intrusions involving combat, it took a bit for him to adjust to the idea that "I the GM" wasn't rolling any dice in combat, and I didn't use an initiative tracker, lol...
Yet another great video from your channel. Your answers/thoughts are so well presented and illustrate your very impressive understanding/mastery of the system. Thank you for your energy and time on these videos and for creating such a valuable resource for this fantastic game!
I knew this was in the works, and had been keeping an eye on the channel. In the end, I lucked out and stumbled into the stream while LIVE. 😀 I'm still watching as I type, but am again loving the content.
In regard to your response to my own questions, I found myself nodding often in agreement. Lots of great points. You hit on many of the things I most love about Cypher, and made me refocus my gaze. Those features absolutely can be viewed as "character abilities".
Each group, story and "campaign" is different, and the ease with which Cypher can be tuned for many flavors of game is a huge asset. I will likely still have games in which I'd like to add that extra "ability" per tier; but you've reminded me why I've loved Cypher from the start. It is a very fine game as is, without me adding or subtracting. Thanks a lot for the excellent insights. 👍🏻
A house rule I’ve implemented with some success is requiring PCs to spend some in-game down-time training and reflecting on their experiences in order to gain the benefits on character advancements.
One advancement requires 4 XP and a full day of training or rest.
After purchasing the four advancements required to get to the next tier, a PC must spend a week of downtime to gain the benefits of their new tier. Once the new tier is achieved, their advancement track resets as normal.
I usually allow PCs to work on other activities like crafting, researching, carousing, making new contacts, etc., during these periods of downtime.
Really like your videos.
Thanks.
Love your videos! I have a bit more generic question on GMing, if that is okay. :)
The thing I feel the least comfortable with as a GM is NPCs. How to make them, run them, and keep them different from each other.
Do you know of a good book with help on this? Preferably with examples.
Many GM/DM books just give tables for inspiration and very few concrete examples on actual in session situations. I have a feeling that if I get better at creating interesting NPCs, and especially running them, they will also become easier to distinguish from each other. Even with minimal voice acting.
I have currently run Curse of Strahd for 8 sessions, after 6+ month of the essential kit, and hope to sometime next year get my group onto the idea of trying a Numenera game. :)
Recently, bumped into the channel while looking into Numenera. Really enjoy the content and your philosophy on the game. Thanks for all your work.
Thank you! There's a lot more to come!!
Interesting first question... I actually do EXACTLY what the OP suggests. Since the sheet has the "Other" option, I basically require all five advancement options to advance a level. That means 20 XP to advance a level and it gives an extra ability per level to all PCs.
BTW, I did not add this house rule to give more abilities (I agree with you regarding the number of available abilities: there's a lot already). I did it for two reasons: 1) I did want to extend the progression a bit and 2) 16 XP is a weird number for my OCD mind... a decimal system makes more sense to me for level advancement, and 20 XP per level seems perfect. Yes, yes, I get it might sound crazy, but it just makes more sense... LOL
The extra ability was a collateral house rule, and nobody is complaining about getting an extra ability...
One extra aspect of what I did: I followed the optional rule of separating the in-game XP (for rerolls and the like) and the session-advancement XP (for actual advancement). Usually, it is 2-3 XP per session and we play biweekly. That means 2-3 years of actual play before the characters max out. By that time, my players are ready to create a new character...
I hadn't thought of grabbing the "alternative" advancements and using them as a fifth category...and you're right, it is right there in the "other" category. This would bring the total to 30 levels of advancement? I may have to think on this and see where it makes sense to apply it...thank you!
I just finished the video. Great advice on how we can make sure we GMs get to use the ideas, scenes and encounters we've prepared while avoiding "the dreaded railroad" that ignores player influence on the narrative. It is definitely a thing that becomes easier to confidently manage with practice and repetition. As you say, it's a matter of having it in mind and putting in the time at the gaming table.
In regard to my latter question about pulling CSR abilities and options into Numenera, we're 100% on the same page. If the players (and GM) involved have a solid grasp on the setting, and the curated options in the Destiny and Discovery core, broadening the pool of options a bit can add variety.
I always think back to a Nano I got to play after the first "Character Options" book released. He was pretty adventurous, and "led from the front" more than many players' Nanos I'd seen. I had a blast using the "Far Step" esotery to reach those high ledges and secure the ropes, etc...
While "Far Step" is not present in Discovery, it's alive and well in the CSR. The same goes for "Closed Mind", "Muscles of Iron", and numerous other old favorites. For a group that's been around The Beyond a time or two, adding a few more options to the selection can really keep characters feeling unique, not only in personality and story, but in mechanics.
John Cage FTW !!!! Wonder if you're also a Stockhausen fan. Cage basically discovered AR in my view - recognizing there is ALWAYS a perceptive frame outside of the composer's control.. and it should be embraced + acknowleged.
I'm not familiar with Stockhausen! But I'll check some of his work out. And YES, as you put it the "perceptive frame outside of the composer's control" I think is a very valuable lesson for GMs and TTRPGs!
I find the idea of getting an additional Foci once Tier 6 is maxed out to be fascinating, at least flavor-wise.
A(n) [Adjective] [Noun] Who Bears A Halo of Fire AND Wears A Sheen of Ice. Who Rides The Lightning AND Controls Gravity. Who Crafts Illusions AND Breathes Shadow. Any of those sound like a rip-roaring good time, especially when the 2nd Foci is complementary to or even a contrast to the 1st.
Using these wildly different abilities in conjunction could lead to some incredibly creative and fun narrative solutions to gameplay obstacles.
Likewise, a 2nd Descriptor might also be interesting if it's different enough from the 1st, such as a racial or regional Descriptor. A "Cruel Vralkan" or a "Subterranean Varjellen", etc.
Is this a good solution for padding out Tier 6 characters until a 7+ Tier is officially added in future editions of the core books and, if so, what are the pros and cons? Have you done this before in any previous games you've run?
I would very much like to see an MCG book that offers some guidelines on doing stuff like this!
@@THEINFINITECONSTRUCT Apparently, at the top of pg. 88 in Character Options 1, it does indeed suggest adding a secondary Foci for maxxed out Tier 6 characters to simulate additional Tiers.
There is also supposedly an Artifact in the Technology Compendium that allows the bearer to choose a 2nd Foci.
UPDATE: It's called "Memory Shard".
@@zeuslgn oh nice! I clearly missed those lol
On top of all that, you could allow PCs to use XP to go back and purchase the Tier 3 and 6 abilities they skipped.
I've been revisiting these videos in recent weeks. I've now run the game with my proffered houserule discussed in this video. It was a popular addition.
Likewise, I have since played in a game in which we got to choose two Descriptors. It was cool. I think it can be a worthwhile change for some games and characters.
do you have links for some of the music you used in this video? i may want to use some
Many of the songs are here in the video list, original compositions from Claire.
@@elementzero3379 TYSM
Is The Amber Sentinel available anywhere?